


Ao Se Lado

by alwaysastorm



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Formula One, M/M, Male Slash, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-30
Updated: 2013-08-30
Packaged: 2017-12-25 03:38:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/948171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alwaysastorm/pseuds/alwaysastorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written in autumn 2012 for Motorskink.</p>
<p>
  <i>Set between the 2012 Korean and Brazilian GPs, and centred around Felipe's contract renewal.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ao Se Lado

_Even if Rob had been able to get some sleep, the uncomfortable plastic chairs in the hospital corridor wouldn't have allowed it. His head hurt, his back hurt, and his heart, oh, his heart hurt the most. His eyes were red raw from barely suppressed tears and tiredness, but he had to be strong, had to keep Dudu reassured that his big brother was going to be okay. He automatically stuck a hand in his back pocket before remembering that the cigarette he'd smoked half an hour ago had been his last; the empty packet now lying in a bin in the hospital grounds. His mouth was dry, his stomach nauseous, and his conscience was guilty from constantly telling Dudu that Felipe was going to be okay, that when he pulled through, of course he wouldn't have changed. All Rob could do was hope that that would be the case. Hope was all he had. Please don't change, Felipe._

 

**Maranello**

Maranello was beautiful in the autumn. The late afternoon sun illuminated the old courtyard, burnished gold against the red shutters of Enzo's house. Rob watched the sunset from his office window, drumming his fingers on the desk anxiously. He glanced at his computer screen, then his mobile, and back again. Yawning, he silently cursed jet lag. He could leave; they'd said he didn't have to be in the office all day today after only getting back from Korea, but...

Mid-yawn, he heard a door click shut from further down the corridor, then footsteps. His heart gave a thump, and suddenly Rob realised how nervous he was. He recognised Felipe's footsteps. Was it pathetic that he did? Or was he just too used to hearing those trainered feet padding their way around the factory?

Felipe looked tired when he popped his head around the door; a race, travel from the Far East, and the anticipation of the meeting with Luca all contributing to the slight shadows underneath his eyes. But a smile played around his lips, and Rob held his breath.

"Well?"

Felipe gave a nod. 

"It's done."

Rob swallowed before nodding back, sucking in his cheeks so his face didn't break into a huge grin.

"Good," he said as nonchalantly as he could. He gathered up some pages from his desk, shuffling them authoritatively; as if he'd been doing something with them and not staring into space for the past hour. "We need to go through some preliminary stuff before India in the next couple of days. I'm worried about that kerb, and we have to... "

"Rob." 

"What?"

Felipe lingered in the doorway, a grin lighting up his dark eyes.

"I think you are happy."

Rob set his papers down and took a swig of coffee, swirling it around in his mouth as if thinking.

"Fuck off, Felipe."

~

Interviews and press releases with Colajanni over and done with, Felipe set back down towards the corridor to Rob's office. It was in darkness; the only clues that someone had been there earlier a coffee mug ring left behind on the wooden desk. Felipe ran his hand over the edge of the desk as he looked at Rob's things – a watch, an apple, a photo of his kids... He peered out of the window, seeing a tall figure outside, making its way towards the front gates. Felipe found himself half-running from the room, down the corridor, and then outside in an attempt to catch Rob before Lucy arrived to take him on the short drive back to their home.

"Hey!"

Felipe stopped in his tracks as Rob turned to face him, sleeves of his pale blue shirt rolled up and his hair slightly messy after a long day. In the encroaching dusk, the older man's face was shadowed; but as the sun set, he was silhouetted against the Cavallino Rampante - and somehow Felipe could see himself in years to come, thinking back to this moment, knowing that this was how he'd always remember Rob.

"Felipe," Rob gave a soft smile as he spoke. "You want to come back for dinner?"

Felipe shook his head.

"I'm going back to Monaco in an hour."

Rob took a step towards him. They'd been together all weekend, they'd laughed and joked with one another only yesterday, and yet things felt... strange, like something had shifted; become more intense.

"You're happy?" Rob asked, and Felipe gave a nod; his eyes wide and eyebrows raised.

"Yes! Here is... " He waved a hand at the old white building behind them before turning back to look at Rob. "Here is home."

"It's just that – somewhere else," Rob ventured. "Somewhere else, you could be... I mean, you're good enough to... y'know?"

Rob held his breath as he waited for a response, hoping against hope he hadn't upset or offended Felipe. For all of his sarcastic putdowns and backhanded compliments, he knew Felipe was a bloody good driver. And maybe – well, maybe there could be something better for him in anoth...

Felipe interrupted his train of thought.

"Here is home," he repeated. 

~

**India**

Once in India, it didn't take long for them to settle into their usual patterns. Flights, hotels, meetings, interviews – the grind of the first few days before a race. Another Friday at a racetrack, but this time, without the spectre of an un-renewed contract hanging over their heads. Rob marvelled at how a familiar setting could suddenly seem so new and thrilling again - rejuvenated, reinspired, even, after too, too many months of uncertainty; of almost subconsciously pulling away, trying to break the bonds, trying to care less so it wouldn't hurt so fucking much if all this was going to end at the last race of the year. The snatched moments alone suddenly seemed more meaningful, more thrilling than they already were – sometimes Rob wondered if the heat and electricity that crackled between he and Felipe each time they found themselves alone for the first time at each race weekend would ever lessen. They were different people away from Italy. More daring, more passionate, more _everything_. They could say and do things that the pressure of their lives away from the racetrack didn't permit them to. 

Felipe pulled into the pitlane at the end of the first practice session before swinging it around so that his crew could reverse him back into the garage. Rob's voice came over the radio, telling him in his usual drawl that that would do for now, they could discuss the session in the motorhome over lunch. Felipe responded with a simple 'okay', unable to express what he was really feeling; unable to tell Rob that the thought of being alone with him had consumed his mind when he was on the straights and maybe not concentrating as much at times as he should have been.

Inside the motorhome, Rob lingered at the bottom of the steps, his mouth curved into a pout as if he was thinking.

"Rob." Felipe said firmly, nodding upwards to the second floor where his private room was. Other members of staff mingled about, typing on laptops, drinking espresso, looking at mobile phones.

"Oh yeah, that... _thing_ you needed to show me," Rob said, trying to appear casual, paranoid that everyone was watching and listening to them, even though they were all absorbed in their own worlds. He followed Felipe up the metal stairs, feeling his cheeks start to flush and his breathing quicken in anticipation of what he knew damn well was going to happen once he and Felipe were alone.

The adjacent room for Fernando was mercifully empty, Rob noted. He saw Felipe scan the open plan floor quickly before sliding open the door to his room. It was small, cramped and basic – white plastic walls with a red leather sofa down one side, a wardrobe on the other, and a TV on the wall above. A towel lay over the sofa; a remnant from the massage Felipe had gotten that morning. 

Within seconds of the door clicking shut, Felipe was grabbing greedily at Rob's groin, tongue running over his bottom lip.

"No time!" Rob protested, backing away as he glanced nervously at the door.

"They're all downstairs getting lunch," Felipe reassured him, knowing that Rob was always the less daring of the two; the most terrified of someone walking in on them. God knows how it had never happened. He leant against Rob's tall frame, chest against chest, pushing him backwards against the cool wall and placing a hand at either side of his head. Felipe brushed his lips against the Englishman's neck, standing on his tiptoes to breathe into his ear.

"Just make me come," he whispered. "It won't take long."

"Felipe, we _can't_ ," Rob pleaded, but his protest was weak. Felipe's hand was between his legs now; heat against heat; rubbing him through the thick red material of his trousers. He gave in, relinquishing control as he accepted Felipe's ministrations with a moan. As the hand grabbed the erection that was now straining against his clothes, Rob's breath caught in his throat as he spoke.

"I wish I could fuck you. Here. _Now_."

Rob gripped Felipe's ass, his hands curved around it, cradling it. The warmth of Felipe's thighs against his own made him shut his eyes and sigh contentedly; the promise of the driver's hardening cock underneath several layers of nomex both infuriating and tantalising at the same time. With a low growl, he turned Felipe around, pulling him tight against his body so Felipe's taut backside was pressed against his dick. Rob pulled Felipe's overalls open, the ripping noise of velcro so satisfying as he pulled up the nomex t-shirt and tugged down the fireproof trousers. Finding Felipe's cock, hot and hard and needing to be touched, Rob ran a hand down its length, his hand slippery with sweat. Felipe's body jolted, and he sighed as he arched his back, reaching backward to rub Rob's own hard-on. Rob pressed his cheek against Felipe's as he danced his fingers across the other man's prick, hissing filth into his ear, making Felipe whimper.

"You bring me in here," he whispered through gritted teeth. "You bring me in here to tease me, thinking you're the one in control." He circled the head of Felipe's erection with the tip of his thumb. "Why do you do it, Felipe? You know that I will always win. You _know_ that you will lose control before I do." Felipe bucked against his body, gyrating his ass against Rob's groin. Rob was hard, almost painfully so, but he wouldn't come first; he wanted to see Felipe come undone before he did.

Rob pulled his hand away and Felipe moaned.

"No... "

"Turn around," Rob ordered, undoing his belt and letting his trousers and underwear pool around his feet.

"Look at you," Rob snarled as Felipe faced him; his cock rigid and aching at the delicious sight of Felipe's flushed face, the Brazilian's lips reddened from arousal and the tip of his dick leaking with pre-cum. "Do I turn you on that much?"

"Yes," Felipe replied weakly.

"Say it louder," Rob demanded, wrapping his arms around Felipe's waist and pulling him against him once more. Felipe's cock clashed against his, skin sliding against skin, and Rob panted as he tried not to completely dissolve; tried not to come there and then.

"YES," Felipe whined, jerking his hips.

"Make us _both_ come, then," Rob purred into Felipe's ear, his lips crushed against the younger man's warm skin. "I'm going to fuck you properly in here next season, do you understand?"

Felipe gave a short gasp at hearing the words. "Next season," he repeated. His chest rose and fell as he tried to compose himself as best he could before placing his four fingers around Rob's dick and his thumb around his own. Rob thrust slowly and gently, their cocks rubbing against one another. Pulling his hand away, Felipe grabbed onto Rob's shoulders as he bucked his hips; his dick slapping against the underside of Rob's erection as he did so. Rob's ragged breathing and the swear words tumbling from his lips were sure signs that the engineer was about to unravel, and Felipe allowed himself a smirk as he felt a hot flood of semen spurt onto his stomach as Rob came. _He'd lost control first_. Felipe grabbed the engineer's dick once more, squeezing the last drops of come from his spent cock. Rob made a guttural noise as Felipe grabbed his hand, placing it around his own hard-on. He fucked Rob's encircled fist rapidly; coming hard within seconds, his face buried against Rob's shoulder as he did so.

Rob leant back against the wall, his face reddened and slightly dazed with a just-come expression. 

"Fuck," he panted. " _Fuck_."

Felipe grabbed the towel from the couch, wiping first his stomach, then Rob's hand. Rob stared at him as he did so, his breathing gradually slowing down and his composure coming back as he adjusted his clothes.

"Jesus," he murmured. "FP2's going to be interesting."

~

**Brazil**

Over the years, the hotel rooms had blurred into one. Do Not Disturb signs on the doorknobs, wedding rings on bedside tables, furtive knocks on the door once corridors emptied. Sometimes Felipe would storm in, angry or upset after a bad result. Sometimes he'd be laughing, relaxed. Sometimes he'd launch himself at Rob the minute the door was opened; unable to contain the want and need any longer.

Tonight, Felipe was happy, sad, laid-back, intense. Tonight, Felipe was every way that Rob had ever seen him. 

"You pissed?" 

"No!" Felipe shook his head, his face breaking into a small smile. "You?"

"Not half as much as I maybe should be, mate."

"I got away as quickly as I could," Felipe began. "I said... I said I just wanted to see you before you went home."

Rob gave a short nod, putting a hand on Felipe's shoulder, and the driver tilted his head a little so that Rob could brush against his cheek gently with a thumb.

"You did an exceptional race," he said. "An incredible one."

Rob moved behind him, edging down the sides of Felipe's t-shirt as best he could, placing a palm on each of the tanned shoulders underneath; digging his fingers into the tense muscles he found there. Felipe made a small noise, rocking back on his heels.

"Good?" Rob asked, resting his cheek against Felipe's.

"Mmm," was the answer, and then a cheeky "Matteo's better at it."

Rob tutted, and he felt Felipe's shoulders finally drop as he chuckled.

"He's better at it... but feels nicer when it's you."

"Good boy," Rob soothed. "You had a good season, y'know. You... "

With Rob's cheek pressed against his, Felipe gave the tiniest shake of his head, and Rob stopped speaking. Felipe knew that Rob understood. He _always_ understood. Rob knew when he wanted to talk, when he wanted to be quiet, when he needed sex, or when, like now, he just needed to be _held_.

"Tough sometimes," Felipe ventured hesitantly, before sagging backwards against Rob gratefully. He didn't need to finish his sentence as he leant against his engineer's firm body, knowing that Rob was supporting him.

"I fell," he whispered, as Rob traced kisses against his neck, his earlobe, his cheek. Kisses Rob had almost given at the back of the garage after the race, lost in the emotions of a great race, of a difficult season over, either unaware or not caring about the cameras.

"You fell?"

"Yes," Felipe said breathily. "But you caught me."

Rob paused, his hand sliding from Felipe's shoulder downwards, to smooth against his stomach.

"I wasn't there, Felipe. I was at the back, with the mechanics, when you fell."

"I wasn't talking about today, Rob."

"And I'd do it over and over again," Rob replied huskily, and Felipe could hear the emotion in his voice. He shut his eyes, letting his shoulders relax, and, laying his head back on Rob's shoulder, felt comforted at the scent that was so uniquely Rob – the slight tang of his aftershave mingled with the fading smell of smoke and whatever washing powder he used to clean his clothes. 

"Rob?"

Rob gave an ' _Mmm_?' by way of a reply, nuzzling his face into the crook of Felipe's neck.

"I... "

"Yeah," Rob said hurriedly. "I know."

~

Rob closed the wardrobe door as he packed away the last of his work clothes, ready for the flight back to Italy the following day. He paused before zipping up his suitcase, his fingers lingering on the yellow badge on his red team shirt. He traced the outline of the prancing horse, a vision of the same badge in his mind's eye, emblazoned across Felipe's chest also, and the car that he would continue to drive the following year. Rob allowed himself a smile before standing up and joining Felipe on the bed. He was idly texting on his BlackBerry, but set it on the bedside table when he saw that Rob had finished.

Felipe put his arms behind his head and stretched out contentedly as he watched Rob approach the bed; azure eyes slightly sleepy and the top button of his jeans undone, showing the low waistband of his white underwear. He hadn't been texting - he'd been watching every move that Rob had made - the curve of his spine as he'd leant over to pack, the small shakes of his head when he'd forgotten to put something in, the absent-minded humming of some song that Felipe didn't know.

"Hurry up," Felipe implored, beckoning for Rob to join him on the bed. This room was small and dim, and the thud thud thud of the samba music playing downstairs was audible, but when they were together, neither of them paid much attention to their surroundings. 

Rob gave a satisfied sigh as he lay back on the bed, putting an arm around Felipe's shoulder and pressing a kiss to the side of his head.

"Early flight tomorrow mate. Remember that."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." 

Felipe swung a leg across Rob's as they lay on top of the cool linen sheets, his tanned face resting against Rob's paler shoulder. Rob felt his eyelids drooping as he sunk his head back against the pillow. 

"Hey. Stay awake!"

Felipe jabbed him squarely in the chest, and Rob's eyes flickered back open to find Felipe's face in front of him. The room was dark but Felipe's white teeth glistened as he smiled, and his brown eyes locked with Rob's before he leaned in for a soft kiss. 

Not for the first time, Rob traced a finger gently across Felipe's scar. Most of the time, he didn't notice it – either because they were too busy, or because it was obscured by a red baseball cap. But at times like this, lying here quietly, it was impossible not to look; to remember. Felipe said he didn't even notice it any more, he saw it so often in his own reflection that it was as if it had always been there, but to Rob it was a story; a memory. Just one of the many scars the pair of them had picked up over the past 6 years; the only difference being was that unlike many of them, this one was on the outside.

"That tickles," Felipe gently batted Rob's hand away.

"Sorry," came Rob's slightly sheepish reply. "I don't want to hurt you."

Felipe gave a gentle laugh. And people thought that he was the fragile one. Only he and Rob knew that he had comforted and reassured the engineer just as often. Rob was solid, rational, dependable – the perfect foil to Felipe's impulsiveness and sometimes highly strung temperament – but he worried; had _been_ worried all year. Felipe knew that, had told Rob over and over that he would be okay, that no matter what happened he'd pick himself up again. Inside, Felipe guessed that even _he_ didn't know the true extent of Rob's fears, but he knew the signs. Rob didn't realise how Felipe watched him as he spoke, gazed at him and studied him; how he knew his mood just from how furrowed the stress line between his eyes was, or by the certain tones of his voice when he spoke.

Rob didn't realise a lot, Felipe knew. 

"I told you before – it does not hurt!" Felipe promised. "Three years, you know?"

"I know," Rob gave a sigh as he rested his head back on the pillow. Felipe gave a grin, leaning across the other man's body and running his own finger along the fine lines that creased at the side of Rob's eyes.

"See? It tickles, no?"

Rob made a 'pfft' noise.

"Those aren't scars though, mate. Those were caused by YOU, Felipe Massa. Bloody stress lines, they are." 

Felipe laughed, his own eyes crinkled at the sides as he chuckled into Rob's neck. Pulling away, he giggled again.

"If _I_ caused them, for sure I think they must be laughter lines!"

Rob gave a brief shake of his head as he rolled his eyes.

"Think you're funny do you?"

"Very," Felipe whispered, pressing his mouth down onto Rob's, sliding a wet tongue between his lips, and putting a leg between Rob's thighs.

"You're an idiot," Rob mumbled through the kiss, wrapping an arm across Felipe's back and pulling him close. Thoughts of sleep were forgotten as he felt Felipe's thigh, warm and heavy against his groin. He let his hand travel down Felipe's back, his thumb rubbing at the small of it and his fingers just lingering at the smooth curve of the Brazilian's ass. 

Felipe reached up, twining his fingers in Rob's short hair and taking each of Rob's lips in between his own, nipping at them before plunging his tongue back into the older man's mouth. Rob accepted it greedily, rampantly. Felipe knew Rob loved to kiss; loved kissing _him_. He got lost in it, was submerged in it. Felipe wanted to see his eyes, those blue eyes that were the opposite of his own, but he knew that when he kissed Rob like this, they were closed.

_You need to do a nice kiss_

Felipe's hand moved downward to Rob's cock, but he felt the other man grab his wrist, and when he looked up, Rob gave the briefest gesture with his head.

"Please?" he mouthed.

Felipe gave a nod of understanding, edging down the bed and taking Rob's dick into his mouth. The Englishman threw his head back against the pillow, panting heavily as Felipe trailed his tongue around the tip before wrapping his cheeks around the entire length, holding him in his mouth to tease him before beginning to suck gently. Rob's heavy breathing and the noises he started to make got Felipe hard, and he groaned around the engineer's cock.

"Okay, you're going to have to stop or I'll come before I get a chance to fuck you."

Rob grabbed Felipe's shoulders, pulling him back up. Straddling Rob's hips, Felipe spread his legs, feeling his lover's fingers, warm and wet, press against him. Felipe accepted them with a moan, pushing back gratefully until Rob spoke again; his voice thick.

"Turn over."

Felipe complied, laying on his back and pulling Rob on top of him eagerly. God, how he loved to feel the weight of Rob's body on him.

_Good boy_

"Fuck me like you did the first time," Felipe gasped frantically, gripping onto Rob's shoulders and hauling his body down so he could clamp his mouth onto the older man's with earnest. Suddenly, Rob remembered a younger them, so unsure of what they were doing, but needing it, oh, needing it. He broke their kiss briefly with an empassioned _'You know I love you, don't you?'_ before their lips clashed again. A noise emitted from his mouth, almost a sob, as Felipe nodded quickly. _'I know, I know.'_

"Rob... " Felipe pleaded, his hands travelling down Rob's long back, fingers trailing back up across his chest and upper arms; gentle but sensual. Rob bit Felipe's neck just above the collarbone lightly, his dick hardening further at the little moan Felipe gave as he sank inside him.

"More," Felipe said, his breath hitching. "Just a bit more."

Rob jolted his hips, enveloped inside Felipe fully, with the Brazilian's pleasured panting giving him the okay to thrust in and out until he didn't know who or what he was anymore; pouring himself into Felipe, his body and brain, heart and soul exhausted; fucking away the crashes, the mistakes, the tyre problems, the grid penalty, the rumours, the _'he's not the same'_ comments. This wasn't sex, this was an exorcism.

Felipe clutched at Rob's lower back, their skin slippery with sweat. His body arched upward each time Rob plunged inside him, and he was only vaguely aware of his eager moans; crying out Rob's name and cursing in his native tongue. He reached back, grabbing onto the headboard, his hips and erect cock bucking up and down as Rob pounded against him.

"Fuck me, oh please keep fucking me," he moaned, and the noise of his pleas made Rob's head light, and suddenly Rob felt like he was falling, snapping back into his body as he felt the rush of his orgasm. He gasped out Felipe's name as he came, a vision of his driver on the podium, holding a trophy aloft as his eyes filled with tears. He cradled his face in the Brazilian's neck and gently moved his hips as he tried to prolong the feeling.

"Fuck, mate. You're the fucking best."

Rob got his breath back as he listened to Felipe's impatient groans. He ran his hand down Felipe's flat stomach, letting it linger on the faint sprinkling of hair on his navel; his belly shining with sweat. Felipe's cock sprang up at his touch, and Rob bent down to lick the tip. Felipe yelped at the sensation and at the wicked flash in Rob's blue eyes. Rob bent back down, wrapping his lips around Felipe's cock; his mouth moist and warm as he sucked him hungrily. Felipe's body went rigid as he felt release; mumbling a thank you to Rob as his engineer first licked him clean, then looked back up, his lips red and full. Felipe reached out, brushing the small tendril of hair that was falling across Rob's forehead away from his eyes. Rob stared at him, gave a small smile, and suddenly Felipe felt like crying all over again. 

_Well done, sunshine_

~

"If you'd left... "

Felipe lifted his head from Rob's chest and shook it dismissively.

"You have a home, a family. I wouldn't have expected you to... "

"But I'd have wanted to," Rob said softly. "You know that, don't you?"

Felipe didn't answer. He didn't need to, just like neither of them had needed to finish their sentences. But Felipe didn't _really_ know how scared Rob had been sometimes this season that they would be parted, or how in 2009, when he'd not been in the car, Rob had longed to hear his voice come yelling over the radio; how it had taken every ounce of strength he'd had to plug away as he'd tried to guide Luca, then Fisi around the track, having to second guess everything they did, not knowing instinctively what they would do at any given moment, or how they would react to what was happening around them on the track – not like he knew with Felipe. And _would_ know, for another season. 

"You know I wouldn't have worked with any other driver," he eventually whispered, tangling his fingers in Felipe's hair.

"No?" came the soft response.

Feeling Felipe's lips graze his chest lightly once more, Rob shook his head.

"There _aren't_ any other drivers, Felipe."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it doesn't work with any other driver. _I_ don't work."

Felipe whispered as he rested his head against Rob's chest.

_"Quiero estar contigo para sempre."_

Rob didn't understand, but he could feel Felipe's soft breath against his skin. 

"Hey," Felipe began quietly. "I guess we won't see each other for a while after this."

Rob stroked his head tenderly.

"It's okay, Felipe. We have lots of time."

"You mean tonight?"

"Not just tonight."

It was only minutes before the breathing became heavier. Felipe was sleeping; content against his engineer's body. Rob could feel Felipe's damp eyelashes against his chest, and wrapped an arm around him protectively, holding him close. As he shut his eyes with tiredness and relief, Rob realised that he'd been so busy worrying Felipe had changed over these past few years that it hadn't even occurred to him that the only thing that had changed was the world and people around them. Felipe was the same person lying against him; had been there all along. Maybe Rob was searching so much for something else that he hadn't seen what had been right in front of his eyes all along. Felipe. Vibrant, fast, mercurial Felipe. 

"We fucking did it," Rob murmured. His face creased and he broke into a sob.

~

_"You look like shit."_

_Dudu tutted indignantly._

_"You're in a hospital bed and you're telling me that I look like shit?"_

_Felipe managed a smile. Laughing would have hurt too much._

_"Well, you do."_

_Dudu rested a hand over the top of his brother's, pointing to the shadows under his eyes with the other._

_"That's what no sleep does to you, bro. If you think I look like shit, you should see Mom or Dad... or Rob!"_

_Felipe turned his head towards Dudu as far as he could, wincing at the pain in his temple._

_"Rob stayed?" Felipe asked croakily. "With you?"_

_Dudu nodded, a glimmer of realisation flickering across his face._

_"By your side, all night. He stayed."_

_Felipe was tired, so tired. And he was fairly sure that if it wasn't for all the pain medication, he'd be screaming in agony right now. He needed some water, and a shower. But most of all, he needed to sleep._

_"He stayed," he repeated quietly. He let his eyes close and waited for sleep to envelop him, the last words before he succumbed barely audible._

_"One day, I will stay for him."_


End file.
